West Seattle, Washington
21 Tuesday
The forecast may not be so hot as of this point, but our West Seattle weekend roundup includes plenty of indoor options if needed … including the world’s most famous all-female AC/DC tribute band, late-night comedy, an all-city “jam” for independent business people, the Rat City Rollergirls’ rummage sale on Alki, plus your chance to help beautify North Delridge … Those events and more, a click away:Read More
Unless the weather magically warms up, this might be a good night to stay indoors. One of your options is The Community Theatre’s production of “Carver’s Pieces,” based on three short stories by legendary Northwest writer Raymond Carver, 8 pm tonight at Youngstown Arts Center (tickets available online as well as at the door). “Carver’s Pieces” also plays tomorrow and Saturday, but there’s a bonus tonight — a chance to talk with the director and actors after the performance.
Just saw channel 7 in The Junction outside West 5 to present coverage of tonight’s City Council nightlife-ordinance hearing; the story’s not on their website as of this writing, but you can read about what happened (minus the WS angle) at the P-I site. Also at Slog, where Skylark gets a shoutout.
Just 3 weeks ago, we mentioned it looked like Seattle Music Fest at Alki would return this year; its website indicated dates were set. Now (thanks to reader e-mail for the tip), it’s suddenly off again (though the SMF website insists dates are set for 2008). However, fans of live outdoor music should still get a treat during Summer Fest in The Junction in mid-July (in fact, tomorrow is when they’re supposed to start notifying acts accepted for the festival).
TOMORROW: The West Seattle Community Resource Center at 35th/Morgan officially celebrates its grand opening (a few weeks after the WS Food Bank and Megawatt moved in) by opening the doors to all. An open house with tours, treats, and guest WS dignitaries (the press release promises Mayor Nickels and Councilmember Constantine) is set for 4-7 pm.
SATURDAY: Skylark celebrates its first anniversary with a day and night full of revelry: Brunch 9 am-3 pm, karaoke 5-8 pm, bands 9 pm-1 am (Electrochakra, Amy Stolzenbach, Brent Amaker & The Rodeo, The Delusions). Owner Jessie Summa-Kusiak also promises “prizes, and happy hour prices all day and night.” (She’s also put in air conditioning, quite visionary since summer heat arrived early!)
A few things we thought you might want to know about before the next weekend roundup rolls around:
-School-play season isn’t over yet: Schmitz Park Elementary stages “101 Dalmatians” @ WSHS tomorrow night and Thursday night.
-“Carver’s Pieces,” presented by The Community Theatre, opens Thursday night @ Youngstown Arts Center.
-If you run an area business, there’s still time till the end of this week to get a spot at the June 5 Greater West Seattle “Neighbors In Business” Open House @ SSCC — go here to find out more (also note, you don’t have to be a businessperson to attend the actual event).
-Best buy tickets now for ArtsWest’s annual benefit/gala Saturday night.
-ArtsWest also just announced an after-hours event June 9 featuring “six rising West Seattle comedians.”
-Next Sunday @ 2 pm at the WS Library, poet Frances McCue lectures about legendary local writer Richard Hugo, who we didn’t know till now was a White Center native and wrote extensively about post-WWII West Seattle.
Thanks again to beach blogger Cathy Woo for the tip about artist Thom Ross working for a while on Alki today; by the time we got down for photos at midafternoon, he was about to pack it up — reader Tim’s comment on our original post has more details on why. The figures are made from plywood, which Ross has used for other memorable displays.
First word of an amazing art project in progress on Alki comes from Cathy Woo’s Beach Walks. Cathy says the artist is Thom Ross and the creations are eventually destined for showing in San Francisco. She has pix up; we hope to be able to get some a bit later.
It’s listed in our weekend roundup but seems to be worth a standalone mention in case you happen to pass the American Legion Hall on the east end of The Junction tomorrow afternoon and wonder what’s up — tomorrow is the third and final day of the first-ever Rainfest; day 1 was at the Legion Hall too, day 2 was in Parkland. Guess you could call this the anti-Folklife, if it becomes a M-Day Weekend staple.
With so many blossoming businesses in West Seattle — West 5, Skylark, etc. — concerned about the so-called “nightlife premises legislation” that’s been making its way through the City Council, we thought you might want to know the next hearing has just been set (June 4).
Courtesy of Cathy Woo, who tells us she took this picture just before 9 this morning at 59th & Alki. (Sure looks like the work of NTG.) 10:35 PM UPDATE: Went down to check it out. This is visible from the beach side of the walkway just east of the bathhouse. We also saw another one — unfortunately peeling badly — a bit further east along the beach walkway, and yet another one on the retaining wall along the bottom of California Way where it meets Harbor Ave near Seacrest.)
Elsewhere online, blurbs just popped up announcing a Robin Williams show at the Showbox next Tuesday, saying the proceeds will benefit the West Seattle Food Bank. Nothing about it on the WSFB site (and the mention on the Showbox site doesn’t mention the benefit aspect); but we did find a mention in the WSFB newsletter archives of a big “surprise donation” from Williams and his wife three years ago, after Showbox performances. Any insiders who can clue us to the Williams/WSFB connection, we’d love to hear the story. Meantime, you can buy tickets for this show online starting @ 10 am Monday morning (here’s the direct link).
From backyard chicken-raising, to salmon-cooking, a plant sale to raise $ for pets, and way beyond, we bring you dozens of choices for the last weekend before Summer Fun officially kicks in — call it Spring Fun, The Finale (plus a few noteworthy non-entertainment events), all a click away:Read More
Yes, the weekend’s over so the sun is back; gotta love Seattle in May. Besides the simple pleasures, like beach-walking when you get home from work, here are a couple happenings of note this week:
-The Taste of West Seattle is tomorrow night, with more than a dozen WS restaurants and caterers participating. Proceeds benefit Helpline; you can buy advance tickets from the Helpline home page (look for the PayPal button on the left side) for $5 less than the cost at the door.
-ArtsWest opens its world premiere “commedia dell’arte style” adaptation of “Pinocchio” on Thursday.
In case you missed it in our weekend roundup … three particularly interesting events today/tonight worth one more shoutout: Megawatt’s WS Community Garage Sale Day till 3 pm (map/guide here), Seattle Majestics women’s football @ Sealth field @ 7 pm, and bellydancing at ArtsWest “afterhours” @ 10 pm. Have a great day, whatever you do. (And don’t forget to put out the bag o’food.)
From 130-plus yard sales in 1 day, to a wild hour to try the Water Taxi, to women’s tackle football, to bellydancing, there is so much to do this weekend, you’ll wish you could just skip sleep. Full list is one click away:Read More
–Tonight, Cafe Rozella continues its 2nd-anniversary celebration with Show Brazil performing @ 7 pm.
–Tomorrow night, the Junction Art Walk (second Thursday of each month) is back. And now it’s got its own blogsite, with a list of who and what you’ll see.
–Also tomorrow night, “Carousel” opens at West Seattle High School (7:30 Thurs-Fri-Sat this week and next; advance tickets are half-price @ Square One).
The creative proprietors of Clementine have not only beautified The Junction by their mere presence, but also have joined the Junction Association Beautification Committee, and one of its current projects is to replace those somewhat dated banners (example at right) trumpeting the shopping district’s free-parking zones. (An endangered species around the city, apparently.) And they’ve put out a call for design proposals for the new banner. Deadline is May 31. Click ahead for the full text of the Request for Design Proposal:Read More
Even without the Cinco de Mayo wildness at your favorite drinking spot, it’s a BIG West Seattle weekend. Click for the full (and “full” is an understatement) list!Read More
For the hundreds of times we have walked or driven past the Alki Bathhouse, we’ve been inside maybe once. Tonight — a good chance to wander in and be warmly welcomed — a spring reception, 5-8 pm (brochure page 14) — we found out from all these cheery postings in the bathhouse’s big side window this morning:
Two calls tonight for West Seattle artists to come forward and show their stuff. First: The new artists’ studio Ginomai is looking for more artists to display their work during upcoming Junction Art Walks. Deadline for the next one is next Monday. (EARLY THURS UPDATE: The Art Walk has its own blog now!) Second: This Friday is the deadline for artists and musicians to sign up to be part of this year’s West Seattle Summer Fest in mid-July. Go here to get an application.
It appears the last Groucho left in the greenery along the Delridge-side approach to The Bridge is gone. Riding shotgun along that stretch of concrete this morning, we were able to confirm the reader tip that first told us so. With the Grouchos gone, WS seems a little less whimsical. For now. (We’ll just have to go back to squinting at the Fauntleroy overpass banners.)
On this busy spring Sunday, perhaps between your Farmers’ Market stop and your Water Taxi trip, take a little time to help ponder the future of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse. A community open house is happening there 11 am-2 pm to facilitate and inspire that pondering. And there’s urgency — the school district still owns this 90-year-old treasure (the child-care center, events hall, and others based there are tenants) but is indicating it’s time to sell off this and other “surplus property.” If you have only driven by, perhaps heading to or from the nearby ferry dock, you may not realize how large the schoolhouse property is; as a result, as one reader wrote to us, “there are developers who are hovering over the property.” Will it be the next townhouse cluster — or will the community rally to preserve it? Drop by today to offer ideas … or absorb them … a rare chance to do something before it’s too late.
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